OACS Student Advisory Board

SONAL WALIA

I’m Sonal Walia and I am from Nashville, TN and am currently a senior at Vandy. My major is Medicine, Health, and Society. In addition to the OACS Service Advisory Board, I am also involved in Alpha Phi Omega, Masala-SACE, and Vandy Taal.

ALLIE KHODADADI

Hey y’all, I’m Allie. I’m involved with VUcept, Vanderbilt Alternative Spring Break and Alternative Winter Break, and Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science. I joined the OACS board because I want to bridge the gap between the numerous resources OACS provides and students at Vandy wanting to engage in service. In addition, I want to help OACS shape the first-year experience at Vanderbilt, hopefully promoting a college career and a future filled with active citizenship and service.

JUSTIN YEH

I have been a part of Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science and Alternative Spring Break since I first came to Vanderbilt. As a part of the service board, I want to bring service opportunities to non-service organizations and integrate service into the activities that people already participate in.

LAUREN PAK

Lauren is a 5’2″ passionate little soul hailing from sunny CA. She might be tiny but according to an old African proverb involving a mosquito, small can make a definite impact. She loves to write as much as she enjoys using her voice to make a positive impact on the world. Here at Vanderbilt, Lauren is a Lesson Coordinator for Vanderbilt-Pakistan Connection, on the Manna Project International Board for publicity, an executive member for the MOSAIC program, and Vice President of the Service Honor Society Lotus Eaters. Lauren is a sophomore studying Human and Organizational Development. She hopes to one day dabble in public policy and work for a non-profit.

SHAWN ALBERT

A long-time resident of Snellville, Georgia, Shawn entered Vanderbilt in 2012 as an undergraduate student double majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Medicine, Health and Society. Heavily involved with service organizations on campus, Shawn currently serves on the executive boards of Habitat for Humanity, Alternative Winter Break, and GlobeMed. This will be his second year on the Office of Active Citizenship and Service Student Advisory Board, a position that he first entered in the hopes of increasing student engagement in service and service learning.

RYAN SELVAGGIO

Ryan Selvaggio is very excited to be a part of the OACS Advisory Board because he has realized that he loves the idea of community service and active citizenship, loves collaborating with other student leaders, and desires to see OACS spread its influence further across this already servant-hearted campus. Ryan currently serves as the Co-President of Habitat for Humanity and Grassroots here on campus and has loved the various service opportunities and collaborations that he and his teams have fostered this year. Furthermore, Ryan served as a team leader for Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations this past year and consulted for Teach for America this whole past year. Next year, Ryan will continue his work as co-President of Habitat for Humanity while also mentoring the new leadership of Grassroots and will also spend his time interning at Martha O’Bryan Center helping to replicate their educational programs across the city, state, and country. Ryan is excited to work with such dedicated leaders through this Board and leave an impact on the very foundation of service and engaged citizenship that he has dedicated so much of his life to already.

BRIDGET CLABORN

Bridget Claborn is a sophomore studying Human and Organizational Development. She has been involved in various service activities on campus varying from tutoring and mentoring to cultural awareness to women’s issues; however, she has been most committed to issues of education reform and justice. In her time as a part of the Ingram Scholarship Program, Bridget has been immersed in hard conversations pertaining to the relationship between the university and the community, and what citizenship really is for Millennials. Moreover, Bridget is excited about joining the Student Advisory Board for the OACS office in hopes of making these kinds of conversations more widespread on our campus.

JACKSON VAUGHT

Hey y’all! I am a sophomore in the College of Arts & Science double majoring in Political Science and Human & Organizational Development. Service has been something near and dear to my heart since middle school, but at Vanderbilt I have attempted to give back through serving on the executive board for Relay for Life, Lights on the Lawn, and as a Manna Project International participant. I could not be more excited to be a member of the OACS Board and look forward to all the amazing things we can accomplish in the upcoming year!

KEVIN CLAVIN

I’m a senior studying Political Science, Philosophy, and Latin American Studies. Since coming to Vanderbilt (after transferring from Boston College last year), I have been involved in Project:BRIDGES, AWB, Manna Intl, International Justice Mission, APO, the OACS Global Service Program in South Africa, and currently serve as an Resident Advisor on Commons as well as a program assistant at Room in the Inn in Nashville. Service has been the essential component for my own personal growth these past four years. Therefore, in serving on the OACS Student Advisory board, I am excited to work with an equally motivated group of students that strive to make service as accessible and enriching an experience for the entire student body!

MATT HARPER

Matt Harper is founder of Vanderbilt CKI, a constituent chapter of the world’s largest student-led service organization. He is interested in developing the ways in which OACS empowers individual service clubs to engage members of the Vanderbilt and broader Nashville communities. Matt, a senior Communication Studies major in the College of Arts & Science, serves a second year on the OACS Student Advisory Board in 2014-15.

JARROD SMITH

My name is Jarrod Smith and I’m a current senior from the St. Louis, Missouri area. I’m majoring in neuroscience and Spanish and hope to attend medical school at some point in the future. Service organizations I have been involved with at Vandy include Alternative Winter Break and Alternative Spring Break, as well as the OACS Ecuador Project. The past few years I’ve been splitting my time between working as a research assistant in a pharmacology lab, developing a movie addiction, and trying to see as much of the world as possible (especially the Spanish-speaking parts).

DAVID WU

I am a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Political Science and French. With regards to service, I am the Chair of Philanthropy for VIRA, Vanderbilt’s International Relations Association, and I am also involved in VUcept. I joined the OACS Student Advisory Board because I want more cooperation between different student organizations so that Vanderbilt as a whole can better serve the community. I also want to make servicing the community more accessible and immediate to the student body.

Else Sharp

Else is a graduate student in the Medicine, Health and Society masters program focusing on the social foundations of health. In addition to working with the OACS student board, Else is co-chair of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health Student Advisory Council. Meaningful service has been a vital piece of Else’s undergraduate and graduate experience at Vanderbilt. She took several service-learning courses on campus, participated in service trips over spring break to Panama, Nicaragua and Ghana, and attended the OACS global service trip to South Africa during summer 2014. Else is looking forward to working with OACS to expand service-leaning opportunities on campus and to learn more about sustainable program management.

Tremonisha West

I was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. I attended Spelman College for my undergraduate education and received a B.A. in Psychology. I’m currently pursuing a M.Ed. in Community Development and Action at Peabody College. On campus, I have served as a Departmental Representative for the Peabody Graduate Student Association, Vice-President of Peabody Coalition of Black Graduates during the 2013-2014 school year, and a steering committee member of Crucial Conversations- an initiative launched on Peabody’s campus to create dialogue centered on racial and cultural awareness. I was fortunate to receive the Ubuntu Award for Outstanding Service from the Organization of Black Graduate and Professional Students in May 2014. In the future, I plan to work in the non-profit sector. As a member of The OACS Student Advisory Board, I am most excited about increasing graduate students’ involvement in OACS programming.

Jelena Belenzada

Hey all, I’m a rising junior from Toronto, Ontario, majoring in Neuroscience and loving it. I’m currently involved with incredible service experiences at Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital, Alternative Spring Break, and Vanderbilt CKI, and am looking forward to continue serving on the OACS Student Advisory Board this year. As a board member, I’m planning to encourage others to embrace Vandy as bigger than the bubble.

Marguerite Zabriskie

Hi my name is Marguerite Zabriskie and I am from Philadelphia, PA. I am a sophomore studying Medicine, Health, and Society and Studio Art. I am a member of Best Buddies, a cohort leader for Vanderbilt’s Dore for a Day program, an active member of Chi Omega, and I compete on Vanderbilt’s Equestrian Team. I enjoy working with kids as a camp counselor and finding ways to share art with others.

PURPOSE

Since 2012 students have played an increasingly integral role in OACS by serving on the Student Advisory Board. The board is active throughout the school year, convening once a month as a large group, in addition to bi-monthly meetings in subcommittees. As a student run board, the students have developed the mission, purpose and terms of reference for the board. They identified key areas where their student expertise can advise and inform OACS programming to be student tailored while meeting the strategic goals and mission of the office.

KEY FUNCTIONS

1. Advocacy and Activism This committee takes on the task of providing opportunities for students to explore the idea of apathy and advocacy. What do they mean and what do they look like as a college student?
2. Relationship Improvement and Student Accessibility Charged with developing awareness activities that further strengthen the relationship between OACS and student service leaders is the main purpose of this committee. They also strive to improve service organization visibility through online presence, organizing service events on campus and engaging with students across campus on the topic of service.
3. Impact and Assessment Largely focuses on assessing OACS programming, student organization impact, and service both locally and globally. They also help student organizations identify ways to take an active role in measuring their impact on the Vanderbilt community and the communities they serve.
4. Service-Learning Promotion Starting this coming year, this committee will engage with professors and students on the topic of service-learning and how to incorporate it on campus either through service work or as course requirements. Research best practices in service-learning. Potentially develop service-learning curriculum for student organizations that engage in local and international service.

BOARD RENEWAL PROCESS

Positions on the board can be held for no more than two consecutive years, after which Board positions are refreshed students are then allowed to reapply. There are two admissions cycles. The first is at the end of the fall and is only open to first-year students. The second is at the end of the spring semester and is open to the entire student body. If you have any questions or would like to express interest please contact Erika.l.larson@vanderbilt.edu.